1. Technical Field
This invention primarily relates to the field of two way interactive entertainment systems typically provided over cable facilities to a user and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus enabling automatic configuration of a television terminal and of its association with a television receiver.
2. Description of the Relevant Art
Two way interactive cable television systems are known for transmitting entertainment, information and data signals over a cable facility toward a plurality of users. Data may be transmitted and addressed to a particular subscriber over a separate data channel or a so-called "in-band" data channel. In a downstream direction, addressed control data may represent services authorized to a particular terminal or control commands to that terminal. In an upstream direction from a terminal to the service provider or system manager location, control data may represent selections made by a user in response to a polling request or at the time of user selection.
Terminals are often manufactured with stored unique identification numbers which may be unknown to a user for security purposes. Nevertheless, the unique identification number is necessary for the system manager to enter a terminal into a system along with location related information and configuration information. When service is ordered, an installer may be dispatched to an installation location with a terminal but, in the past, has not been able to align a screen display of an associated television receiver without having to obtain access to the interior of the terminal. Further, the installer has not been able to actuate entry of the terminal into the entertainment system without the assistance of personnel at the system manager location. Further still, the installer has been unable to immediately and automatically verify entry of the terminal into the system.
In a hotel/hospital environment, considerable interaction between an installer and the system manager location may be required to accomplish terminal configuration. In fact, the installer may be required to travel between the locations of the terminal and of the system manager until terminal entry into the system is acknowledged.
No provision has been made in the past for the possibility that a user may purchase their own terminal and configure the terminal themselves. The user is dependent on installer installation processes.
The installer or user, then, to configure a terminal should be able to assure themselves that the individual components of the terminal are functioning properly. They should assure themselves that any software is handling tasks in a responsible, efficient manner. The association of the terminal with the terminal receiver should be verified in at least two ways. Firstly, each television receiver may react differently to commands to display a teletext screen of information. Consequently, there may be a requirement to align the display of a test screen on the television receiver. Secondly, the turning off of power to a television receiver may be inappropriate for a particular television receiver installation. Consequently, if power is supplied to the television receiver via the terminal, it may be appropriate to set a switched power outlet of the terminal to either a permanently ON or to a switched condition in which power is provided to the receiver only when the terminal is turned on. System entry is determined by, at least, the acceptance by a system manager of the unique terminal identification and, possibly, a secondary identification of the terminal and/or the user. Typically, a separate telephone communication is required for the user or installer to verify system entry.
Interactive terminals generally have been equipped without the capability of locally generating a display on an associated television receiver. Terminal-provided displays such as liquid crystal display of a selected channel number at a terminal are inadequate for providing an effective man/machine interface for accomplishing a complicated task such as terminal configuration. Supplementing any such display with an installation manual may still be inadequate and confuse the user or installer.
Keys normally provided at interactive terminals comprise a complement of numeric input keys, channel increment keys, volume control keys, a power button and a "buy" key. However, these keys are inappropriately labeled and may confuse the user if simultaneously employed for terminal configuration.
It is also known in the art of non-interactive cable television terminals having a programmable read only memory to enable a remote programming of the terminal via inputting a special code not provided with the standard remote control transmitter associated with the terminal. According to U.S. Pat. No. 4,792,972, which issued Dec. 20, 1988, entitled "Remote Programming of a CATV Channel Authorization Unit" and incorporated herein by reference, an installer employs a special programming unit equipped with, for example, an infrared transmitter to remotely program the read only memory of a so-called "plain Jane" converter, which is not addressable over a communication link by a system manager, nor is the converter capable of return transmissions. Via the special code, access is obtained to the read only memory into which memory is loaded premium channels and services authorization data. The converter is not equipped with a character generator and has so capability to locally generate character screens for display on an associated television receiver. All activities are controlled from the special code transmitting remote programming unit.
Consequently, there remains a requirement in the art for providing an interactive television terminal and method of enabling an automatic installation of the terminal comprising, for example, screen alignment, terminal configuration, or the acknowledgement of entry into an interactive entertainment system.